'Heartless' treasurer stole $142,000 meant to help sick children at Ronald McDonald House

The former treasurer of a charity that provided a holiday cruise to the Ronald McDonald House faces sentencing today in stealing over 100 thousand dollars from the children's program which prosecutors say all but shut it down.

Randall Morrison, 50, admitted to stealing approximately $142,000 through wires and checks since 2006 while serving as the Washington-based RMH Charity Holiday Cruise's treasurer, offering programs for sick children and their families.

'The heartlessness of his acts is indescribable,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Masada previously said in court, according to Seattle Pi.

Stolen: The former treasurer of the Ronald McDonald House Charity Holiday Cruise will be sentenced today for embezzling $142,000 from the non-profit that provides Christmas gifts and a cruise to sick children and their families

Mr Masada has argued Morrison's sentence be just over two years behind bars, pointing out that the former treasurer was paid at times $160,000 annually by the non-profit organization for his position.

'While the defendant was fixated on improving his already high standard of living, the true victims of his crime were consumed with the fragility of life itself,' Mr Masada said of the charity's children who come from nearby hospitals and medical facilities.

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While apologizing for his crime, Morrison's defense team said the theft was in response to his wife's ailing health and resulting gambling debt.

In 2006 Morrison secretly repaid $30,000 of the $142,000 he had stolen.

'Unable to repay his gambling debts, and terrified of what would happen to his wife if he were to go under financially,' his attorney Lynn Hartfield told the court according to Seattle Pi, 'he began to take money from [the charity], always intending to pay it back.'

Penalty: Morrison pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud against the holiday charity and could give him up to 20 years in prison with a $250,000 fine

Morrison began his position with the RMH Charity Holiday Cruise in 2005 which provides Christmas gifts and a Christmas Eve cruise for needy families residing at the Seattle home which it is not formally affiliated with.

'...we are fortunate to have many organizations who donate money and time to the House and the RMH Holiday Cruise organization is one of them,' a spokeswoman wrote in a statement to the Mail Online.

'They formed as a 501c3 specifically to provide this annual cruise for families staying at the House but have no other connection than that and we share no financial relationship with them.

'We regret this man has embezzled from them and hope they can regain their footing soon.’

According to prosecutors, Morrison fraudulently wired money or cut himself checks from this cruise program, whittling the finances away while fabricating finance reports that didn't disclose the true numbers to the organization.

Moving to Ohio in 2006, while continuing his position and receiving the charity's bank and financial statements in the mail, the theft continued.

The charity was tipped off in 2009 when his new employer - which he served as chief financial officer for - discovered fraud on his business credit card, contacting the Ronald McDonald House.

Pleading guilty in August to two counts of wire fraud, he vows to repay the money stolen from the organization though the charity argues it may be too late.

'Randy Morrison all but killed the organization,' one board member wrote in a letter filed with the court. 'We'll be hanging on by a thread.'

All but one of the charity's programs have been forced to shut down due to their poor financial health.

Along with Morrison's theft, he also failed to adequately do his job according to prosecutors, racking up penalties for the charity on missing state registration and tax returns.

'The heartlessness of his acts is indescribable,' Mr Masada said.

Morrison faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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'Heartless' treasurer stole $142,000 meant to help sick children at Ronald McDonald House